Policemen Sentenced over Drugs

The provincial law courts in Málaga have found 18 people guilty of drug trafficking, amongst them two policemen and one ex-policeman.

One of them was a Guardia Civil officer stationed in Algarrobo and the other one was a policeman in the Nerja municipal police.

It all started with a police operation mounted by the Guardia Civil in Nerja in February 2014 that netted a tonne and a half of hashish that the gang was going to store in a cortijo near the Acantilados de Maro.

The condemned guardsman had the official task of watching the coast for drug runners landing their merchandise, but instead collaborated with the drugs gang, advising them to land the drugs on the days that he was on duty.

Meanwhile, a municipal policeman belonging to Nerja kept an eye on the coastal road for the gang, keeping them informed about police patrols. He also rented a cortijo on the coast which the gang used to store the drugs before moving them on.

Finally, the gang also counted on the help of an ex-policeman from the Policía Nacional, who had been discharged from service after having been convicted of drug charges. His task was to keep an eye on the section of the coastal road where the drugs were to be landed, as well.

Both the guardsman and the municipal policeman were sentenced to eight years each and 15 years banned from serving whilst the ex-Policia Nacional officer, got 10 years because it was his second offense. He was fined 8.5m euros and permanently banned from returning to the service.

The rest of the 18 people netted in the police operation received sentences varying between two and six years’ imprisonment.